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November 12, 2005
Dialects
I think that I have a dialect in between African American English (AAE) and formal English. Sometimes I might say something like "watcha doin tomorrow?" or "wanna go somewhere". I think that I do this instead of using formal language all of the time, because it is a way to shorten my sentences instead of saying something completely. Even with these shortened sentences I can still be understood the same. I have a southern californian dialect, which is why sometimes I also say "like" a lot when I'm trying to describe something.
When I'm talking to my family I usually use formal language. However, when I'm trying to tell a joke or say something funny I will use slang. I definitely use slang if I'm talking to some of my close friends. Especially if were talking online, we shorten many of the words that we say. I think that I have more of an urban youth dialect, because I grew up in a very urban area and picked up a lot of slang words. When I'm writing or speeking formally I just turn off that swith in my mind and not focus on being informal.
--Yasmin
Posted by lcisperez at November 12, 2005 05:06 PM